5 Cricketers who ruined their careers with controversies

Cricket is also known as gentlemen’s game that holds a massive following across the globe. But, what if we say that these gentlemen rocked the cricket world with some serious controversies during their cricketing career. In the long history of cricket, many players came and earned their reputation as one of the gems. Meanwhile, there were some bad boys who were quite consistent in attracting controversies due to which they ruined their cricketing careers.

It is known that it is a dream come true for any player to play for their national side. But some players couldn’t digest the limelight and ended up being one of the controversial figures of the game. There were some players who ended up affecting their own reputation. But, also ended up harming the legacy of the game

We have listed out our top five cricketers, who ruined their career due to some infamous controversies that will be remembered by the people for long.

Here are five cricketers who ruined their careers with controversies:

1. S. Sreesanth

Sreesanth proved until he played competitive cricket that he was controversy’s favourite child. He arrived in international cricket for Team India as a quick bowler. The 37-year-old reaped out lots of success on the cricket field and hit the headlines on numerous occasions with his performances. But more than his on-field performance, he hogged the spotlight due to his controversies.

The biggest in all of them was the IPL spot-fixing scandal when the37-year-old was playing for Rajasthan Royals. And, he was accused to be one of the culprits to have done such corrupt activity related to the game. The fans were shocked that their idol could have committed such thing for money which is against the rules of the game. Afterwards, he was handed with a lifetime ban from BCCI from playing cricket. However, later on, he was set free from all the claims on the base of no proofs available.

Earlier, he had attracted a big controversy after Harbhajan Singh slapped him while customary handshake after match between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians came to its end. As per reports, Sreesanth something that Harbhajan found offensive and lost his cool over his former national teammate.

2. Mohammad Asif

Mohammad Asif was one of the promising bowlers from Pakistan when he began playing for the national side back in 2006. He was known for swinging the ball in both the directions. He was simply unplayable during his early days. Even the cricketing fraternity thought that the Men in Green nation has produced another class fast bowler like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. However, he couldn’t digest the limelight and ended up being one of the controversial figures in cricket.

In 2006, he was positive of using drugs in order to enhance his on-field performances. And, PCB banned him from playing cricket on any level for one year. Later on in 2008, he hit the headlines for using steroids during the maiden season of Indian Premier League back in 2008 due to which he was handed with a two-season ban from the officials.

Then came the mother of all controversies– Asif was found guilty in the match-fixing scandal against England in 2010. He bowled no-balls in one of the Tests for money. And, he was given one-year imprisonment by the government with a ban for five years from playing cricket.

3. Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar is regarded as one of the quickest bowlers in the history of cricket. He was one of those who could bowl off and around 150 km/hr. He is regarded as one of the finest bowlers in the history of Pakistan cricket. But one thing that went against his illustrious cricket career was his power to attract controversies.

In 2003, he was handed with a ban of five games after he was found guilty of ball-tampering during a game of Triangular series followed by his three-game ban for abusing Paul Adams. Shoaib Akhtar didn’t stop and there were some more controversies that were making their way.

In 2006, he was found positive taking performance-enhancing drugs due to which he was handed with a two-year ban. However, later on, he appealed in the court and got relief from the charges. In 2007 during T20 World Cup, he was again suspended for the team for hitting his teammate with the bat that rocked the cricket world.

4. Andrew Symonds

Andrew Symonds was an exceptional batsman played for Australia. But, his career was cut short due to his drinking habit. Symonds was regarded as a moody and arrogant cricketer. In 2005, Symonds was dropped from the national side just before the game against Bangladesh for consuming alcohol pre-match evening. CA fined for breaching the rules. Later on, in 2008 he skipped a team meeting and went for fishing due to which he was left out of the national squad for an indefinite span of time.

The biggest controversy of Symond’s career came in 2009 when he gave a radio interview in an intoxicated state. During the discussion, he called Brendon McCullum a ‘lump of sh*t’. Afterwards, CA added a clause in Symonds contract that he will not drink alcohol in public places.

After signing the contract with cricket board, he was spotted taking the alcohol during a Rugby game, which saw the end of his career. There is no doubt over the fact that Symond’s is reckoned as one heck of a bad boy in international cricket history.

5. Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pieterse turned out to be a superstar for England more than a reliable player for country. He gathered bucketloads of runs and his stats speaks enough about his calibre. But he had to pay some big price for not having good terms with England Cricket Board, teammates and coach.

The right-handed former batsman was appointed as the skipper of England back in 2008 after Michael Vaughan bid adieu to international cricket. He got off to a great start with a win against South Africa in the final game at The Oval followed by 4-0 victory against the same opponent in ODI series. Later on, England lost ODI and Test series against India.

The 39-year-old openly declared that he is not comfortable to play under Peter Moores. Later on, ECB sacked both of them from their posts. Next controversy came in 2012 when Pietersen announced his retirement from ODIs as ECB was not giving him the permission to play full season of IPL. Furthermore, in 2012 during Test series against the Proteas, he sent derogatory texts to some of the members of South Africa cricket team.

Even, he took the names of Andrew Strauss (skipper of team) and Andy Flower (Coach). From that point onwards, the things between Flower and Pietersen began falling apart. After performing brilliantly for England in 2014 Ashes, he was shown the doors by England Cricket Board. As per reports, it is said that Andy Flower said to ECB that they will have to pick one between him and 39-year-old former batsman.